


Cliffhanger

by hongbab



Category: VIXX
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-16
Updated: 2017-02-16
Packaged: 2018-09-24 23:05:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,794
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9791129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hongbab/pseuds/hongbab
Summary: “Lee Jaehwan,” the guy replies and reaches out a hand for Sanghyuk to shake. “Guide to lost souls trying to find themselves The Book. Always a pleasure to set up a rendezvous between an enthralling story and a reader starving to read something good.”





	1. I

**Author's Note:**

> Recommended song: dodie - [Would You Be So Kind](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ypnr33sEmg)

Something about libraries has always drawn Sanghyuk to them, but actually visiting them has been a totally different question. 

He doesn’t know if it’s because the books there aren’t his own possessions or because those places are way too quiet. Nevertheless, he’s standing in the doorway of one now, feeling a little lost.

The public library isn’t very big on the inside which is quite understandable considering how small the whole town is, and the librarian doesn’t even spare him a look as he passes the counter, murmuring a ‘hello’. Sanghyuk strides to the shelves, reading the signs above that say HISTORY, ROMANCE, BIOGRAPHY and SCIENCE, desperately looking for the fiction section. He soon finds it, stopping in front of the shelf, feeling helpless.

There are just too many books. And he has no idea which one to read. 

In retrospect, it would’ve been clever to search for something good on the internet and arrive to the library with a specific idea of what to choose, but he didn’t do that, so he just stands in front of the labels and cracked spines of unknown books, anxiety rising in the pit of his stomach, thinking about how embarrassing it would be to just leave.

“Looking for something?”

Sanghyuk snaps out of his daze, glancing to his right where the sound came from. A few feet away from him stands a boy probably around his age, wearing a pair of stonewashed jeans that end above his ankles, the rest of his skin covered by old black boots, and a well-worn sweater that most probably used to be emerald, though it’s now mostly just an ugly toad colour. The guy pushes his round, metal framed spectacles further up on the bridge of his prominent nose, plush lips stretching into thin lines as he smiles at Sanghyuk, cocking his head to the side questioningly.

“Uh,” Sanghyuk says cleverly, “not really. I just… want to read something, you know? But I don’t have an actual idea about what to read.”

“Hm,” the boy murmurs and presses a finger on his lips, looking up at the shelves. “Do you like manga? You look like you would like manga.”

“Well, I do like that kind of stuff,” Sanghyuk replies, “but I’m more of an anime person when it comes to that.”

“I see,” the guy says, still staring at the books. “A classic?”

“Maybe,” Sanghyuk shrugs. “I haven’t really read anything in a long time, so there might be some that I haven’t read yet.”

“Okay,” the boy leans a little forward, inspecting the books. “A horror or whodunit?”

“Not really a fan of those,” Sanghyuk says.

“Something sports-related?”

“I’m not very sporty either,” Sanghyuk mumbles and feels the tips of his ears growing warm. He wishes he could just give it up and go home to play Overwatch with his friends, but the guy next to him seems very determined to find him something good, and the way he even stands on his tippy toes to look at the higher shelves is kind of admirable.

“A thriller?” The boy sinks back on his heels and glances at Sanghyuk. “More toned down than a horror book, so you might like it.” He must see something on Sanghyuk's face, because he smiles brightly before turning back to the shelves. “Guess not.”

“Look, I’m—”

“Read this,” the guy says and shoves a heavy book into Sanghyuk's hand.

The cover of the book is a bluish grey, with some sort of cross symbol printed on it, and on the bottom it reads ‘ _Cryptonomicon_ ’ in the most awful mud-brown (possibly golden back in the days) font Sanghyuk has ever seen. He turns the thick paperback over, skimming through the synopsis, catching some words like ‘codebreakers’ and ‘conspiracies’ and something about World War II, and frowns when he reads the last line by the Wired magazine: _A hell of a read_.

“It is,” the stranger says and he reaches out, pointing at the line with fingers too bony for someone so soft-looking. “A hell of a read. Really, I’ve read it like, three times at least. You should thank me later.”

“Okay,” Sanghyuk says tentatively and then blinks up at the beaming boy. He’s about half a head shorter than Sanghyuk, but his joyful expression makes it feel like he fills up the space between them and between the shelves. “I don’t know whom I should thank though.”

“Lee Jaehwan,” the guy replies and reaches out a hand for Sanghyuk to shake. “Guide to lost souls trying to find themselves The Book. Always a pleasure to set up a rendezvous between an enthralling story and a reader starving to read something good.”

“Han Sanghyuk. Are you a matchmaker?” Sanghyuk laughs and Jaehwan grins even wider, showing almost two full rows of teeth.

“I’m so much better than a matchmaker,” Jaehwan replies and lets go of Sanghyuk's hand. “I don’t only make true love happen, but I also give people lifelong friends.”

“Right,” Sanghyuk smirks. “Would you… like to get a cup of coffee with me? Down in the coffee shop? I need some suggestions as to what to read after I’m done with this one,” he holds up _Cryptonomicon_.

“Oh, sorry,” Jaehwan says and actually looks sad, his shoulders drooping. “I still have some soul guiding to do and I have only a few pages left of _The Sum of All Fears_ —which is great and I highly recommend you read it. But if you stop by next time, we can go to the coffee shop.”

His eyes are sparkling as he says that, his smile bunching up his cheeks and smoothing out the sharp edges of his face. He’s cute, like a little elf that’s trying to bring happiness into the world, though Sanghyuk can’t be sure of his intentions outside of the library. His pointy ears resemble that of an elf’s, anyway.

“Yeah, okay,” Sanghyuk nods. “Then, good luck finding the perfect matches?”

“Thanks,” Jaehwan smiles. “And you have fun with that.”

“I hope I will.”

Jaehwan starts walking backwards, towards the end of the aisle, waving his hand at Sanghyuk and skipping a little as he turns around before disappearing behind the shelves.

Sanghyuk lets out a soft laugh, a little exhalation, as he walks towards the counter, putting the book down in front of the librarian, a young girl who’s tapping away on her phone. She takes the book before Sanghyuk could say anything, and then reaches out without looking up from her screen.

“Card,” she orders.

“Oh,” Sanghyuk says, “I haven’t joined yet, but I’d like to.”

The girl sighs and takes her hand back, clicking here and there on her computer. Sanghyuk looks towards the aisles while she does so, sees Jaehwan crouch down by a little boy at the children’s section, wearing a wide smile.

“You need to fill this out.”

Sanghyuk turns back, realizing he’s grinning without a proper reason, and takes the form and a pen from the librarian, scribbling down his data. When he’s done, he hands it back to her, and the girl taps the keyboard some more.

“Has he been working here for long?” Sanghyuk asks, leaning in closer. “Lee Jaehwan.”

“He doesn’t work here,” the girl says, and then puts the book back on the counter. “Lending time inside the cover, your card’s going to get mailed to you.”

“Thank you,” Sanghyuk replies, a little confused.

He looks back up into the general direction of where Jaehwan was a moment before, but he has disappeared and the little boy is holding up a book to his mother and jumping happily, a smile spreading on his small face. From behind them, Jaehwan stares at Sanghyuk and holds his thumbs up.

Sanghyuk leaves the library in a strangely elevated mood.


	2. II

If there has been one thing that got Sanghyuk to read the 1168 pages long novel in a week, it was the prospect of seeing Jaehwan and possibly getting a cup of coffee with him. 

It does happen like that; Sanghyuk hands _Cryptonomicon_ back to the bored librarian who registers the event under Sanghyuk's name, but doesn’t even meet his eyes. Sanghyuk pulls a face he knows the girl won’t see anyway, and marches into the main aisle, his head snapping left and snapping right, looking for a mop of dark hair and a pair of round glasses too huge on a face too sharp-edged for someone so… small.

He finds Jaehwan in the reading room alone, with a cushioned chair pulled close to a window and Jaehwan sitting on it with his socked legs drawn under himself. He’s immersed in a book resting in his lap, head propped up on his hand. His brow is furrowed in concentration, maybe displeasure, and the sight makes Sanghyuk smile a little as he pads in, stopping right next to Jaehwan.

“Something bad happening?” he asks quietly, and Jaehwan looks up at him, adjusting his glasses on the bridge of his nose. Sanghyuk nods towards the book.

“Things I would never agree with,” Jaehwan says, and sticks a piece of paper (previously a shopping list, now serving as a makeshift bookmark) in the book, closing it afterwards. Sanghyuk reads the title of it: _1984_ by George Orwell.

“You might be taking it too seriously,” Sanghyuk says.

“Have you read it?”

“Yeah, and it’s amazing,” Sanghyuk replies. “And _Cryptonomicon_ was really good, too.”

“Oh?” Jaehwan perks up, a smile making its way on his face. “Have you finished it?”

“Yeah,” Sanghyuk nods.

Jaehwan scrambles to stand up, pulling on his sneakers without untying his shoelaces.

"Would you like to talk about it by a cup of coffee?" he asks, placing the book on a shelf where it doesn’t belong. When Sanghyuk looks at him questioningly, he just shrugs, saying, "It'll be easier to find when I come back."

He leads the way out of the reading room, and picks up his bag from the counter, the librarian not sparing the two of them a look.

The coffee shop downstairs is small and looks pretty unpopular, if the lack of guests on a sunny Saturday afternoon is any indication, but it's charming in its own way, at least to Sanghyuk.

"Hey, Hongbin-ah," Jaehwan greets the guy behind the counter. 

The brown haired boy is far too handsome for a coffee shop worker; the kind that makes headlines on blogs, declaring him to be the “hottest barista” and becoming Instagram famous just because of the sheer fact that he’s attractive and isn’t on a runway but behind a counter. He is wiping a mug clean, his eyebrows running up on his forehead when he looks up at Jaehwan.

"How come you've climbed out of your cave upstairs?" he asks without saying hello.

"Couldn't you be a little kinder?" Jaehwan asks, pouting sadly. "I have a guest today. A newbie in the field of library-going. I still have a lot of work to do on him."

Sanghyuk snorts and Jaehwan looks at him, amused. The guy called Hongbin narrows his eyes, but then smiles, wide and blinding, dimples appearing in his cheeks, though it’s nothing short of sarcastic.

"What can I do for you, dear guests?"

"I'd like the usual," Jaehwan replies happily, and then both of them stare at Sanghyuk who feels a little uncomfortable, staring up at the menu above Hongbin's head.

"Uh," he says, "I'd like the same."

"I doubt that," Hongbin grumbles.

"Excellent choice!" Jaehwan exclaims, and then motions towards Sanghyuk, "Come."

They sit down in a booth by the window, Jaehwan placing his hands on top of the table, lacing his fingers, and Sanghyuk lets himself marvel at them a little, at their angularity and all of Jaehwan's bones looking so sharp and still so graceful, a wide silvery band glinting on his right middle finger.

"So," he says, resurfacing from his daze, "can I have a question?"

"Go ahead," Jaehwan says cheerfully, his kind smile appearing on his face.

"The librarian girl told me you don't work there. What do you exactly do at the library all the time, then?"

"He lives there," comes the reply from Hongbin who puts their drinks on the table. "He's pretty much a library freak."

"A compliment," Jaehwan nods and Hongbin grimaces at him, but then leaves the table. "I do certainly not live there, though I've tried to move in before, but unfortunately, the town leaders are quite against people looking for shelter in a library."

"You're kidding me," Sanghyuk mumbles, eyebrows raised.

"Am not," Jaehwan shakes his head and pulls his drink closer to himself. "They're pretty strict."

"I didn't mean that," Sanghyuk laughs at the absurdity of it all. "I meant you couldn't be serious about wanting to move into the library."

"Oh, I was serious about that," Jaehwan replies, taking a sip of his beverage through the straw. "I figured if I was going to spend most of my time there, I might as well bring my stuff with me. But to answer your question, I love books, if that hasn't been clear so far."

"It has," Sanghyuk snorts and then examines his own drink. It's a glass of... something, with dark syrup on the bottom and some coffee mixing with what seems to be vanilla ice cream, milk froth and whipped cream on top, sprinkles of cookie crumbs and caramel decoration sitting upon all of this, a spoon and a straw stuck into the whole thing. "What... is this?"

"It's called a 'bookworm'," Jaehwan answers, pulling out his spoon carefully not to drop whipped cream on the table. "Hongbin gave the name of it and it went through with the management well! It's something I invented."

Sanghyuk thinks about that for a second, and while he doesn't yet know Jaehwan all that well, he finds he isn't really surprised this is all Jaehwan's doing.

"Is this a latte with whipped cream and cookie crumbs and caramel and vanilla ice cream and... what's that on the bottom? Chocolate syrup?"

"Not exactly," Jaehwan says, happily turning over a spoonful of whipped cream in his mouth. "It's chocolate chip cookie flavoured syrup; the coffee shop's own thing."

"Looks like liquid diabetes," Sanghyuk murmurs.

"Hm, that might have been a better name for it," Jaehwan giggles and Sanghyuk grins at him.

'Bookworm' tastes ten times sweeter than it looks, but Sanghyuk drinks it all, engaging in a conversation about _Cryptonomicon_ and other books with Jaehwan, finding out that Jaehwan has no one favourite book because he's simply too much of a nerd to choose. Sanghyuk listens to him most of the time, only sneaking in a comment about books he's read, but otherwise paying full attention to Jaehwan as he digs into his "coffee" with his spoon to reach the scoop of ice cream, talking animatedly about all the stories he loves. He seems very into the whole topic, sounding more passionate about it than Sanghyuk has ever felt about anything, bright smiles breaking out on his full lips, and adjusting his glasses every now and then, and Sanghyuk wishes Hongbin wouldn't tell them they're closing.

"Oh, look at the time," Jaehwan says, flicking his left wrist to look at his battered watch. "It's already past nine. We've been here for more than four hours."

"Astute observation," Hongbin calls from behind the counter. "I'm tired, so please, just pay and leave."

"Sad thing good conversations always end too soon," Jaehwan sighs and stands up, gathering his stuff.

"We could continue it another time," Sanghyuk offers a little quietly, afraid of being rejected like the first time.

"Yeah, just drop by the library anytime you want and we might be able to come downstairs," Jaehwan says.

"If you're not too engrossed in a book?"

"Exactly," Jaehwan grins and pulls out his wallet.

"My treat," Sanghyuk says touching the back of Jaehwan's hand to stop him. His skin is warm but dry and Sanghyuk, for some reason, files that away with all the other things he has learnt about Jaehwan today. He unsuccessfully tries to fight off a blush as he pulls his hand back. "Thanks for the talk and, well, the diabetes."

Jaehwan laughs at that, loud and boisterous, his eyes forming crescent moons and creasing at the corners, and damn it, he looks so cute the way he pulls his shoulders up like he's trying to hide his smile into the collar of his black turtleneck.

Sanghyuk pays for their coffees more than he would consider reasonable for non-alcoholic drinks, and they exit the coffee shop together, stopping in front of the door and watching Hongbin turn the sign around to 'closed'.

"Next time you come to the library, I'll let you choose something based on your gut feeling," Jaehwan says, huddling into his coat in the cold February night.

"I thought you were supposed to match me up with my better half of a book?" Sanghyuk asks.

"That's only the first step," Jaehwan replies and his eyes are sparkling as he says that. "I can see the potential in you to be my partner on this project and that means you need to learn how to choose good stories just by following your instincts."

"I feel honoured?" Sanghyuk laughs. "I guess?"

"You better do," Jaehwan says and hits Sanghyuk's shoulder lightly. "Good night, Sanghyuk."

"Good night, Jaehwan."

Jaehwan smiles at him one last time and then turns around, walking off towards a bus stop.

Sanghyuk watches him go and presses a hand on his stomach, trying to figure out if the movement inside is from butterflies or the drink, the possibility of it being the two mixing together hanging above his head.


	3. III

Sanghyuk finds himself standing helplessly in front of the bookshelves yet again, staring up at unfamiliar book spines.

“You’re too tense,” Jaehwan says and his grip tightens on Sanghyuk's shoulders as he stands behind him on his tiptoes, peeking around to see the books. “You need to relax and just let the book choose you.”

“Is this like that thing in Harry Potter?” Sanghyuk asks a little sourly. “The wand chooses the wizard?”

Jaehwan chuckles behind him and seems to lose his balance a little, plastering up on Sanghyuk's back for a moment and Sanghyuk is glad Jaehwan can’t see him blush.

“Something like that,” Jaehwan replies finally. “Now concentrate on the books.”

Sanghyuk sees familiar titles like _The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy_ and _Lord of the Flies_ , but decides to leave them there, even if half of them are books he has only heard of but never read. Jaehwan said he should rely on his gut feeling, so that's what he does, reaching out for a book on the top shelf, jostling Jaehwan on his back enough for Jaehwan's hands to fall off his shoulders and catch his waist. Sanghyuk flinches, almost yanking a dozen books down, and Jaehwan lets go of him like he touched burning wood.

"Sorry," Sanghyuk mumbles, flustered, and when he turns around, he sees Jaehwan standing in front of him with a pretty blush spreading across the bridge of his nose, tinting even the tips of his elf ears pink, his hands hovering aimlessly in the air. He's still half a head shorter than Sanghyuk and his general build is still so much smaller, and Sanghyuk knows these are not supposed to be things to fall for in a person, but shit, he feels himself mentally trip with every glance takes at Jaehwan.

"You— you chose that one?" Jaehwan asks in a strangely high-pitched voice.

Ah, yes. His voice, too. That's also another Jaehwan-thing worth falling for.

Sanghyuk takes a deep breath and blinks down at the book in his hand. 

It's a thin paperback, not as worn as _Cryptonomicon_ was, its condition suggesting that it hasn't been read a great many times. He turns the book around and traces down the patterns on the cover: it looks like a printed circuit board; the neon turquoise lines almost glowing on the dark blue background. It's entitled _Straight Line_ , and Sanghyuk turns it around in his hand again, opening it at the first page, frowning at it.

"There's no author," he says, looking up at Jaehwan who seems quite jittery, pulling the sleeves of his sweater (a mint green knitted piece this time) over his hands, avoiding Sanghyuk's gaze.

"Really?" Jaehwan asks, walking to the chair he pulled by the window.

"Have you read this one before?" Sanghyuk asks, following him to sit down on the carpet with his back against the wall right next to Jaehwan. Sanghyuk looks up at the boy, but Jaehwan won't look back down at him.

"I think I have," he replies, opening Bram Stoker's _Dracula_ at the page he had previously left off. "I can't really remember."

"Is it that bad?" Sanghyuk grimaces at the paperback in his hand. "You said you remember most of the books you've read."

"I don't know if it's bad," Jaehwan shrugs and he finally glances down at Sanghyuk, the nervousness still visible on his face, hiding behind his watery smile. "I guess you'll have to see it for yourself."

"Yeah," Sanghyuk mutters. "But why does it have no author?"

"Some authors prefer to remain hidden from the public, you know," Jaehwan says, and there it is, a truly happy smile, somewhat even condescending as he flicks Sanghyuk's forehead. "Noob."

"Nerd," Sanghyuk fights back and catches Jaehwan's hand, his fingers wrapping around Jaehwan's own. He holds it one second too long and they're already two blushing idiots again; a scene right out of a sappy romance novel.

_Straight Line_ is quite intriguing as it is, and the more Sanghyuk reads of it with his head resting against Jaehwan's thigh, the more he doubts Jaehwan could forget this story if he ever read it.

It's something Jaehwan would like, Sanghyuk thinks, with the storyline centring around a young genius learning how to build androids just to save the love of his life through building her again after she dies, installing their shared memories into her mechanical brain, and Sanghyuk finds himself sucked into the story.

There are fingers in his hair, blunt nails scratching lightly, and Sanghyuk gets dragged back into reality by Jaehwan's hand on top of his head.

"Ugh?" he groans, and as he blinks up at Jaehwan, he feels his eyelids moving heavily like he would fall asleep anytime. He didn’t even notice he’s been getting tired.

"The library's closing," Jaehwan says, smiling down at him, his hand falling away from Sanghyuk's hair.

"Oh," Sanghyuk takes Jaehwan's left hand gently, pulling it into his sight to look at his watch. "Wow. Okay, yeah. We should leave, huh?"

"Unless you want to hide away behind the shelves," Jaehwan grins and he must see something on Sanghyuk's face, because he starts laughing a beat later, covering his mouth. "I was just joking, we can't actually do that, Hyerin knows we're here."

"Pity," Sanghyuk says, but gets on his feet, placing a clean handkerchief between the pages. Jaehwan takes the book from him and hides it between other paperbacks, along with _Dracula_.

"You seemed quite preoccupied with the story," Jaehwan says once they're standing on the street, in front of the coffee shop, Jaehwan waving at Hongbin who's standing behind the counter inside. He turns back to Sanghyuk. "Is it that exciting?”

"It's pretty good," Sanghyuk nods. "I'll come tomorrow, too. I really want to read it some more."

"Well, I'll be here," Jaehwan chuckles.

"Don't you have anywhere else to be?" Sanghyuk asks, smiling.

"Not really," Jaehwan shakes his head. "Besides, I'm glad I'm not alone anymore."

Sanghyuk almost chokes on his own saliva but manages to hold back, his second reaction being reaching out for Jaehwan's scarf to adjust it around his neck, pulling it further up so it bunches just under Jaehwan's mouth.

"Thanks for showing me... everything," Sanghyuk says awkwardly.

Jaehwan nestles into his newly arranged scarf—judging by the way his eyes begin to crinkle, hiding a smile behind the clothing item.

"I'll see you tomorrow, then," Jaehwan says.

"Yeah."

It's fleeting and nearly unnoticeable, but Sanghyuk's heart almost blows up inside his chest as Jaehwan wraps his ice cold hand around Sanghyuk's warm one, squeezing his fingers lightly, only to let go a moment later, averting his eyes and turning around to leave for the bus stop.

Sanghyuk catches something from the corner of his eye, and when he turns towards the coffee shop window, he sees Hongbin resting his chin in his palms, fluttering his eyelashes at him, a dimpled smile sitting on his lips. Sanghyuk decides it's better for him to go.


	4. IV

“What do you do, exactly?” Sanghyuk asks, looking up from the last ten pages of _Straight Line_ at Jaehwan's face as he sits by his leg, head against Jaehwan's thigh. There’s a hand on his shoulder, Jaehwan resting it there, and Sanghyuk keeps fiddling with it, his own fingertips running up and down Jaehwan's bones and joints absently.

“What do you mean?” Jaehwan asks back, pushing his glasses further up on the slope of his nose.

“I mean, outside of the library,” Sanghyuk clarifies. “When it’s closed and you go home. And, like, what did you do before you started hanging out here?”

“I went to the university,” Jaehwan says, moving his index finger a little, crossing it with Sanghyuk's. “And I graduated summa cum laude, thanks for asking.”

“Let me guess,” Sanghyuk grins, “you were a Literature major, weren’t you?”

“Biology,” Jaehwan replies and flicks Sanghyuk's ear.

“Oh, that’s surprising.”

“Not as much as you majoring in History.”

“Yeah, that was surprising to me, too,” Sanghyuk mumbles, because really, it was. He applied for it because of all the pictures of excavation sites on the university pamphlet, but he never would have thought he’d get accepted. Still, here he is, skipping classes to read books with Jaehwan. “But back to the point.” Sanghyuk turns around, not letting go of Jaehwan's hand, their index fingers still hooked together, hanging in the air. “If you’re not a student anymore and you apparently don’t work—how do you get money for, like, food and clothes and all that?”

“Who said I don’t work?” Jaehwan raises his eyebrows.

“Wait, you do?”

“It’s kind of twisted that _I_ need to remind you of this,” Jaehwan giggles, “but life doesn’t stop at 6 o’clock when the library closes.”

“So you work at night?” Sanghyuk inquires.

“You’re one curious kid, aren’t you?”

“Why else would I be here?”

“That’s a good point,” Jaehwan says and stands up. “All right, I guess it’s time I let you in on my darkest secrets.”

“Do I really want to know, though?” Sanghyuk murmurs, but then Jaehwan is holding his hand, yanking him up on his feet.

“You’re way too deep in, at this point.”

Damn right he is.

They end up walking towards the bus stop Jaehwan goes home from every day, holding each other’s hand and mostly staying quiet; Jaehwan keeps his eyes on the pavement and Sanghyuk tries to fight off astigmatism, because he can’t stop staring at their laced fingers from the corner of his eye.

“Where are we going?” Sanghyuk asks once on the bus, Jaehwan placing their hands into his lap and playing with Sanghyuk's while half of his face is buried in his scarf, the tip of his ear red again. For a crazy moment, Sanghyuk wants to lean in and kiss it, but stops himself before he would make a fool out of himself.

“My place,” Jaehwan says, still not looking Sanghyuk in the eye.

That piece of information is heavy enough to shut Sanghyuk up.

Jaehwan's flat is in the better part of town; newly built blocks with lots of green around them, the main road running just perpendicular to the street where they get off the bus, shiny, tall office buildings towering above them on the other side of the road. They walk into one of the modern-looking buildings, Sanghyuk trying to close his mouth as he awes at the decorations in the main hall but feeling he’s unable to, and they enter a lift, Jaehwan pushing the button that brings them up to the fourth floor.

Jaehwan's flat isn’t big, but it’s fairly well-equipped with dark floorboards and cream coloured furniture in the living room.

“Is this where you live?” Sanghyuk asks, standing awkwardly in the doorway.

“I didn’t bring you to someone else’s place if that’s what you mean,” Jaehwan laughs, and tugs at the zipper of Sanghyuk's coat, urging him to take it off.

“Looks fancy,” Sanghyuk says, kicking off his shoes and following Jaehwan further inside, through the living room where there is a huge bookshelf running along the wall opposite the small couch. “Are you a drug dealer or something?”

“A hitman,” Jaehwan whispers and chuckles at Sanghyuk's unimpressed look.

“You have so many books,” Sanghyuk notes as he stops in front of the shelf, eyes roving over the neatly aligned volumes. “I mean, that’s kind of what I expected, but— is this _Straight Line_?”

He hears a sigh coming from Jaehwan, and Sanghyuk takes the book off the shelf, seeing the same circuit board-like cover. When he looks back up, he notices the lack of authors on the books that sit close to where _Straight Line_ did just moments before, and feels that something isn’t quite right.

“You said you didn’t remember if you read it,” Sanghyuk mumbles, brows knit. “And there are so many anonymously published books here; do you collect them?”

Jaehwan holds his hand again and pulls Sanghyuk with him towards an open door, stopping in the middle of a room that looks much like a bomb has exploded in it.

There’s a huge desk under the window, a small lamp standing by a PC, printed and hand-written texts on paper scattered around the floor, pens that have lost their caps sitting on top of them. There are also quite a few empty energy drink cans and chocolate wrappings, and it takes Sanghyuk some time to place all of those things together.

“Is this… your study?” he peers at Jaehwan and almost recoils from Jaehwan's gaze, because it’s intense and begging, like he really wants Sanghyuk not to judge him for everything he’s seeing. “And you… write?”

Jaehwan nods, stepping to the desk to open a drawer, rummaging through it until he pulls out a thick batch of printed pages, the paper yellowed already and the edges wrinkled. He sticks it under Sanghyuk's nose.

“ _Straight Line_ ,” Sanghyuk reads the title on top, “by… Lee Jaehwan? You wrote this?!”

“No need to beat me up with it,” Jaehwan grins at the way Sanghyuk holds up the published book and puts the manuscript on the desk. “But yes, I did. And all the others that have no authors, outside on the shelf.”

“Wow,” Sanghyuk says, blinking down at the book in his hand and sitting down in the chair in front of the desk lest his legs give in under him. “So this is why… are you a best-selling author or something?”

“Not really,” Jaehwan laughs and steps closer, sitting on top of his desk, on a bunch of papers. His legs dangle from there. “But I’ve made some money out of them.”

“How many have you written?”

“Twelve so far. They’re really not that great, but they’re enough to provide me with some income.”

“And why don’t you have your name on them?” Sanghyuk puts _Straight Line_ on the desk. “I mean, I’ve only been reading this one and it’s crazy good, so—”

“I don’t exactly want to become famous,” Jaehwan smiles at Sanghyuk and gently caresses his hair. “I figured if I kept myself hidden, they won’t bring attention to me, though, I must say, they don’t even sell that well and my publisher says it’s because of the anonymity.”

“You’re… wow.” Sanghyuk's eyes turn to his current favourite book once again. “So, tell me, is she going to die in the end?”

“She’s an android, Sanghyuk,” Jaehwan laughs, “androids don’t _die_.”

“She’s going to get shut down by the government, doesn’t she?” Sanghyuk whines. “The straight line is the line on the monitor where he checks if her parts are still working, isn’t it? It goes straight like an ECG.”

“Do you really want to spoil it for yourself?” Jaehwan pulls a face at him.

“Ah,” Sanghyuk leans back in the chair, trying to process all this information. “I can’t believe you wrote this; it’s really good.”

“You must really underestimate me.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Sanghyuk frowns. “I’m just… I don’t know.”

Silence falls between them and Sanghyuk looks around, catching some words on the pages spread out on the desk, wanting to read everything in one sitting, with Jaehwan's hand in his hair just the way it is now. He feels… so proud and excited, and his heart is about to burst the way it’s pounding in his chest, and when he glances back up at Jaehwan's prettily shining eyes, he swallows thickly.

“Jaehwan?”

“Hm?”

“This might sound weird, I don’t know. I just think you’re really wonderful,” he jabbers before he could really think about what he’s about to say, “so, I think I like you? Like, like like. In more than a… friendly way, you know? So, I’m— I’ve been thinking, would you… go on a date with me?”

There’s a blush on Jaehwan's cheeks again and Sanghyuk wants to kiss it, on both sides, because Jaehwan looks like a delicate little flower blooming whenever the pink appears on his skin, but then Jaehwan's hand disappears from between his locks, leaving Sanghyuk feel empty. There’s a sad smile on Jaehwan's lips when he says, “I have some work to do, the deadline is in two weeks.”

He gets off the desk and starts digging through his papers, with his back at Sanghyuk.

It’s like ice water being poured over Sanghyuk's head, his entire body going cold and he feels like crying; there’s not enough air in his lungs.

“I guess I’ll see you at the library, then,” he mumbles, standing up.

Jaehwan nods, leaning over the pages and Sanghyuk might be imagining it, but it looks like his hands are trembling.

Jaehwan sees him out of the flat, eyes glued to the floor, Sanghyuk examining his doormat once outside.

“I’m sorry,” he says.

Jaehwan opens his mouth, but eventually just gives Sanghyuk a mournful glance before closing the door.


	5. V

“Uh-oh,” Hongbin says, way too cheerfully, “you just got dumped.”

“Can you give me a glass of that… sweet stuff?” Sanghyuk asks and then promptly collapses on top of the counter, burying his face into his arms.

“Drowning your sorrows in sugar won’t do much good,” Hongbin replies from somewhere above him.

The coffee machine starts whirring and silverware clinks against glass, but Sanghyuk doesn’t look up, lets grief take over him as he sits on the barstool, regretting every single word he uttered half an hour before at Jaehwan's place.

“If that makes you feel any better,” Hongbin says and Sanghyuk lifts his head, sipping at his drink sadly, “you’re not the first one.”

“Did he dump you, too?” Sanghyuk inquires gloomily.

“Not me,” Hongbin shakes his head, leaning on the counter. “A friend of mine, Wonshik. That poor boy was head over heels in love with Jaehwan—he became an utter fool for him. He’s not the literary type like you are, but he did see Jaehwan here a few times. I once saw him trying to kiss Jaehwan… well, suffice it to say Wonshik left in tears.”

“How is that supposed to make me feel any better?” Sanghyuk grumbles.

“I’m not sure,” Hongbin muses, shrugging. “But you’re the first one I’ve seen Jaehwan be so unreserved with. I kind of believed you could break the ice. What happened exactly?”

Sanghyuk tells Hongbin about everything, drinking big gulps of his ‘bookworm’ in the meantime, still feeling wounded from Jaehwan's rejection. He doesn’t think the confession was inappropriate; it might have been, if Jaehwan hadn’t shown him all those signs—then again, he might have got too ahead of himself.

“Okay, listen,” Hongbin says, “one of the things I managed to learn about Jaehwan since he’s been coming here is that you don’t outright tell him your thoughts. It must do with his analytical mind-set or whatever, but he likes to figure out things on his own, just like he does whenever he reads something. He loves cliffhangers and you need to let him realize what’s going on instead of giving him the answer. That said, you blew this one, buddy.”

“I blew it?” Sanghyuk asks pitifully.

“Well, a little,” Hongbin twists his mouth. “Unless he really is smitten with you, and I do think he might be.”

“What am I supposed to do now, then?”

Hongbin sighs.

“If only I knew, man. I got a headache from being so eloquent.”

Hongbin pats his shoulder and walks away to take an order.


	6. VI

Sanghyuk finds Jaehwan in the reading room just by the window where he always sits, and he plops down next to him on the floor, leaning back against his thigh. He feels Jaehwan freeze above him, but doesn’t budge, taking a thick paperback out of his bag.

“What are you… reading?” Jaehwan asks carefully.

Sanghyuk peeks up at him.

“Oh, this?” he asks, showing Jaehwan the cover. “It’s called _The Grimoire_ , written by a certain nameless author.”

“That’s… that’s mine,” Jaehwan replies meekly. “I wrote that.”

“Did you?” Sanghyuk says casually like he doesn’t have a list of all the titles he managed to remember from Jaehwan's bookshelf in the pocket of his jeans. “Then hopefully it’ll be at least as good as _Straight Line_ was.”

“You haven’t even finished that one…”

“I did, last night.”

“What?” Jaehwan asks, confused. “How?”

“There are these shops you can buy books at, you know,” Sanghyuk answers. “Bookshops, they are called, if I’m not mistaken. I bought it at one of those.”

“You bought my book?”

“Five of your books, to be exact. I’m kind of broke right now, but I guess that’ll only make you richer.”

“Sanghyuk…”

“Shh, I’m trying to read.”

There’s a half-oppressive silence as Sanghyuk starts to read from where he left off last night, having to re-read every other sentence as he tries to will his heart to calm down. Jaehwan is tense above him, his hand cold as he cups Sanghyuk's cheek.

“Hey,” he says, and Sanghyuk can hear the smile in his voice, “did you really like it that much?”

There it is: the ache in his sternum as his heart starts pounding, those stupid butterflies squirming around in his stomach. He reaches up to place his palm on Jaehwan's hand, attempting to heat it up, though the skin of his face must be doing a much better job at it.

“I’m not the one who underestimates you.” Sanghyuk closes the book and places it on the carpet, turning around and taking Jaehwan's hand off his face, holding it tight in his own as he looks up at Jaehwan. “I meant that it was amazing and I literally can’t wait to re-read it after I’m done with this one, and I’m only twenty pages in, but I already know I’ll want to re-read this one as well. And I’m sorry about what I said back at your place, it was just really a lot to process and I really do think you’re wonderful, because—”

Jaehwan's free hand is on Sanghyuk's neck in an instant and he’s leaning down, pressing his lips to Sanghyuk's mouth. The kiss is soft and slow and sweet and so warm compared to how cold Jaehwan's fingers are, and Sanghyuk finds himself standing up from the floor to give Jaehwan better access, eventually having to bend down himself. He hears the book Jaehwan was reading fall to the ground with a thud, his nose nudging the lens of Jaehwan's glasses and it’s going to get dirty, but Jaehwan doesn’t seem to mind. They kiss like that until Sanghyuk needs to support himself by the backrest of Jaehwan's chair because his legs become wobbly, his hand that holds Jaehwan's shaking with the happiness that wants to burst out of even his fingertips.

When he pulls back, Jaehwan's eyes are shinier than they have ever been when he looked at Sanghyuk, patches of grease smeared over the lens of his glasses, that cute flush making his face bloom like a small wild flower.

“Let me have my cliffhanger,” Jaehwan says and a wide smile spreads over his lips.

Sanghyuk can’t help but kiss his smile again.

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, the plot of Straight Line is what you think it is because I'm horribly uncreative...
> 
>  
> 
> feel free to talk to me about any of my stories or just vixx in general on [tumblr](http://hongbab.tumblr.com/), [curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/hongbab) or [aff](http://www.asianfanfics.com/profile/view/1061753) ♡ please support me on [ko-fi.com](https://ko-fi.com/hongbab) if you can ♡


End file.
